27.0°F  Website Login | St. Clair ShoresApril 15, 2009April shows
By Brad D. Bates
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Photo by David Schreiber
Fraser High senior Carson Beauchaine pitches during the Ramblers’ 15-0 win against St. Clair Shores Lakeview April 16 at Kyte Monroe Park in St. Clair Shores. |
Spring Break tourney gives glimpse of MAC baseball races
ST. CLAIR SHORES — While most coaches used the annual Spring Break baseball tournament to find out who their top nine players are, others used it to gauge which teams warrant close attention.
Held April 13-18 at Kyte Monroe in St. Clair Shores, the tournament brought together 19 squads from the Macomb Area Conference, three from the Catholic League, Richmond High, Croswell-Lexington and Detroit Western.
Warren De La Salle was the class of the tourney, taking home the title following a 13-0 win against Utica Stevenson April 18 and outscoring opponents 78-7 in its seven games.
Here’s a breakdown of how the Spring Break tournament played out, plus a look at the various divisions of Macomb Area Conference.
Red Division
After winning the Red a year ago and saying goodbye to several key seniors, Stevenson seemed to miss very little en route to the title game.
The Titans went 4-0 in Pool B against Fraser High, Utica Ford II, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep and St. Clair Shores Lakeview, outscoring them 43-3. Stevenson then topped Fraser 14-4 in the tournament quarterfinals and beat Madison Heights Bishop Foley 7-5 in its semifinal.
Utica Eisenhower used its high-powered offense to take home first place in Pool A against Bishop Foley, Warren Mott, Warren Fitzgerald and Eastpointe East Detroit.
The Eagles fell to Bishop Foley in their quarterfinal 7-3 after topping the Ventures 6-3 three days earlier.
Macomb Dakota tied for first in Pool C with Utica High at 3-1, but Utica took the head-to-head advantage by beating the Cougars 7-6 April 17. Dakota lost to De La Salle 9-4 in its quarterfinal.
The emergence of Stevenson and Dakota, both of which lost key players from 2008 — including Titans ace Steve Pistono and Cougars All-Star Rodney Hush — should make a very competitive Red even more so.
And the solidification of a veteran Ike squad, which returns 10 from 2008’s 15-win squad, along with the addition of Grosse Pointe North and Grosse Pointe South, make the Red undoubtedly one of the best leagues in the state.
White Division
Utica picked up where it left off last year, when it finished by winning 10 of its last 14 games. The Chieftains took home a win against former Red rival Dakota, but lost to the tourney’s surprise team, Warren Cousino, in their quarterfinal 5-4.
St. Clair Shores Lake Shore, which won the 2008 Spring Break title, was second to De La Salle in Pool D with wins against Croswell-Lexington, Madison Heights Lamphere and St. Clair High. Mott tied for third in Pool A at 1-3; Ford II was third in Pool B at 1-3; and Romeo High was fourth in Pool E at 1-2-1.
Utica put itself in the discussion for a 2009 White title with another of the teams new to the White — Lake Shore.
De La Salle handed Lake Shore its lone loss of the tournament and first of the season in a 5-0 game April 15.
Blue Division
Fraser scored 31 runs en route to its second-place finish in Pool B and took home wins against Ford II (5-3), Notre Dame Prep (8-2) and Lakeview (15-0).
Port Huron, Port Huron Northern and St. Clair High all took home 2-2 records in pool play.
Fraser senior Carson Beauchaine showed why he’s one of the most talked about players in Macomb County heading into this spring, pitching the Ramblers to a shutout win against Lakeview.
Gold Division
Cousino outscored its Pool E opponents 33-17 and then topped Utica in the semifinal round. In games against teams from the MAC Blue and White, the Patriots held a 3-0 record and outscored teams 26-12.
The Patriots’ run ended against De La Salle in the semifinal round 13-1. It was the only game of the tournament in which they gave up more than seven runs.
Madison Heights Lamphere finished 0-4 in Pool D, but topped Sterling Heights High 16-1 in a consolation game.
East Detroit finished 1-3 in Pool A, topping Warren Fitzgerald 7-5.
The emergence of Cousino as a contender in a league that features a talented Lamphere squad, a 2008 regional champion Warren Woods Tower team and Marine City High — which won 26 games in 2008 — could make the Gold as competitive as any league in the MAC.
Silver Division
Lakeview took home a 1-3 record in Pool B, beating Notre Dame Prep 5-4 April 16. The Huskies tied Mott 6-6 in an April 18 consolation game.
Sterling Heights High and Madison were both winless in pool play, but Sterling Heights took home a 9-7 win against Richmond High in a consolation game.
With the addition of five new squads, and considering Madison graduated four of five All-Conference honorees and seven seniors from its 2008 Silver Division championship squad, the Silver appears to be a wide-open race.
Bronze Division
Fitzgerald was the lone member of the newly created MAC Bronze to participate in the tournament and turned heads with its 5-3 win against Mott April 16.
Aside from their 17-0 setback against Eisenhower, Fitzgerlad hung in there against East Detroit and Bishop Foley and are looking to be one of the teams to beat for the inaugural Bronze baseball title.
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